25 Secrets of Adulthood that I’ve Learned the Hard Way.

With time and experience, life teaches us all lessons. I keep a running list of my "Secrets of Adulthood"—the things I've learned, the hard way. (For instance, here are my Secrets of Adulthood for Habits.)

I write about these in my books, I talk about them in my podcast "Happier," I think about them all the time. There's something about distilling an idea or observation into a proper "Secret of Adulthood" that makes it easier for me to remember.

What I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.

For the most part, I'm very much like other people, but our differences are very important.

Hell is other people; Heaven is other people.

Every medicine can become poison. (Email, caffeine, social media, work, treats...)

I manage what I monitor. So if something's important to me, I should figure out a way to monitor it.

Never let myself get too hungry, too sleepy, or too cold. And never pass up the chance to use a bathroom.

I bring my own weather to the picnic.

Just because something is important to me doesn't mean that it's important to someone else.

A stumble may prevent a fall. This relates to the Strategy of Safeguards in my book Better Than Before.

One of the best ways to make myself happy is to make other people happy; one of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy myself. This is one of my Eight Splendid Truths of Happiness.

Outer order contributes to inner calm. I'm finishing up a little book with this title. Stay tuned.

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